The value of what you lay down & take up

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

I can’t tell you how many times I loved sitting under Miss CJ’s teachings. She was on staff at one of our old churches and every time she spoke, I just felt like she was gunning straight for me. She had this eternal optimism about her, a spritely laugh, and wasn’t afraid to be a straight shooter when it came to the speaking the truth from the Word of God. She was the queen bee of women’s ministry, and I adored her for it. One week she was sharing about the choices we make in life and I sat gobsmacked and she challenged us to consider what we do with our lives:

“Anything that you say ‘yes’ to, automatically means that you are giving your ‘no’ to something else” 

Now most of you will probably understand that as a part of life. But for me, who likes to be a little too zealous in overcommitting myself sat rather dumbfounded. I found myself realizing I wanted to give my ‘yes’ to everything and my ‘no’ to nothing. Truth is, she was right, and I was sorrowfully mistaken. Giving my ‘yes’ too often meant that I wasn’t really being a good steward of what I was called to, and instead had my fingers in too many ministry/ family/ life pies. My “Aha!” moment came when I realized that my first yes needs to be to Jesus and what he asks of me, instead of saying yes to anything else and trying to keep everyone happy. The grace of God meets us in what he calls us to do. The reality is, we need to be careful and wise what we give our yes, our time, and our lives to. 

What strikes me beautifully from this passage in Hebrews, is that Jesus himself is no stranger to this concept. As the author and perfecter of our faith, he sets a prime example for us to follow. With joy in his heart, He set the work and will of the Father before him. That didn’t come easy for Jesus, and that didn’t come without significant sacrifice. But no one can deny the fruit. From now until eternity, the entire Kingdom of God will celebrate what Jesus did for us. We may never know the full extent our ‘yes’ bears this side of heaven, but that still means we are asked to give it. We are called in similar fashion, to lay some things down, other things aside, so that our yes is loud and clear to the One who went before us. 

In a season where many of us are thinking about changes that lay before us, I want you to ask yourself one question: What does Jesus have to say about it? From how we spend our time, to the ministry we serve in, to the people we hang out with……let Jesus lead you. When we put him before us, and put aside whatever hinders us, it is much easier to step into what he has called us to do. It might be that we are more clear in our yes, and by default giving our no to something else, but we can’t ultimately loose when we find ourselves fully entrusted to him. 

My prayer for all of us, is that we would be found in every season giving our yes to Jesus and our no to anything that keeps or distracts us from Him. 

With so much love,

Joy